Here's a little break from all that "football" talk Josh and crew have been inundating us with ;)...

The rookie linebacker we love to love has given me another reason to root for him. This picture was taken at Saturday's Kentucky/Miami of Ohio football game, played at Paul Brown Stadium. Now obviously, Maualuga is a USC Trojan through-and-through, but the fact he even acknowledges UK gives me pause, as well as a reason to celebrate.  Of course, he was probably just giving the RedHawk fans a hard time.

A big hat-tip to KentuckySportsRadio.com for the find (via KentuckySports.com) -- Oh, according to the comments, Rey enjoyed the game.  A lot:

I was in the Miami section. He came over in a Miami jersey and cheered for Miami, then took it off to reveal the UK shirt. He drank copious amounts of alcohol with both parties. 

If poster Glorious is being forthright, it sounds like Maualuga would be a blast to hang out with.  Oh yeah, Carson Palmer was there, too.

Lost in all this talk of free agency was that on Tuesday, Baylor hosted their Pro Day workouts, which featured arguably the best offensive tackle in the upcoming NFL Draft. For the most part, Smith only "did position drills but stood on his combine numbers for the other drills." Paul Alexander, Bengals offensive line coach, was one of 15 teams to send a representative.

Based on needs, the lack of offensive production and the expected release of Levi Jones after the draft (provided they draft an offensive tackle), the Bengals are considered to be heavy favorites for one of the four offensive tackle prospects; Michael Oher, Andre Smith and Eugene Monroe. Since Jason Smith is the most likely to go as the first offensive tackle, many are figuring that Monroe will fall to the Bengals.

For a complete list of Pro Day workouts, click here.

The Bearcats own the Big East Title, expecting an Orange Bowl date.

It really wasn't University of Cincinnati's 30-10 win over Syracuse that won the Bearcats a share of the Big East Title and a BCS bid; we can thank Pitt's 19-15 win over West Virginia for that. Beating Syracuse Saturday meant that Cincinnati, for the first time since winning the Missouri Valley Conference in 1964, have won a conference title outright. The last time they've won a share of any title, was the 2002 Conference USA title.

While the Bearcats prepare for Hawaii this Friday (hey, we clinched a BCS berth, let's go to the beach), rumor is circulating that Brian Kelly is leaving for Notre Dame, as per unnamed sources in Cincinnati. It's hardly a secret that Charlie Weis' job is in serious doubt, but rumor suggests a deal with Kelly is already in place, waiting on Notre Dame to buy out Weis. We're having a great run in college football right now, and Kelly leaving would seriously bum us out; especially if he leaves before the Bearcats play their BCS game.

Pike completed 28 of 44 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns... Bearcats showed off at the recruits at the game... Mayor Mark Mallory recognized Bearcats football... the Bearcats is Ohio's only BCS team...

The Bearcats finished the game with 18 more first downs than the Orange, converting 50% of third downs (7/14), and 412 yards total, while Syracuse picked up only eight first downs, converted only three of 14 third downs and recorded only 211 yards total (a quarter of those yards picked up on a 58-yard run by Tony Fiammetta). No offense to Orange fans, but Syracuse's offense was dreadful. Quarterback Cameron Dantley completed a five-yard pass with 6:47 left in the first quarter. A combination of bad passes, awesome Bearcats pass defense (and pass rush), or dropped passes, Dantley didn't complete a pass until 11:14 left in the game.

The Bearcats were without cornerback Mike Mickens, arguably the team's best defensive player, against Pitt. On Monday Mickens went under the knife to "repair torn cartilage in his left knee", and will miss the two remaining games against Syracuse and at Hawaii. Kelly hopes to have Mickens back by their bowl game, whatever that is (uh-hum, Orange Bowl, uh-hum).

Mickens won't be the top cornerback drafted, though I argue he could be with a certain Buckeyes fanatic family member. In his fourth season, Mickens has accumulated 14 career interceptions, three returned for touchdown. This year he leads the team with 66 tackles (even with missing Pitt), and nine passes broken up.

Football expert mocks that Mickens will be the third cornerback taken late in the first round. His size could be turn teams off, but not his heart and physicality. New Era Scouting ranks Mickens fourth in a strong cornerback class, ESPN ranks him ninth, but says he lacks top-end speed and ability to shed blockers against bigger receivers.

Here's a nice little "Highlight" of Mickens against Marshall earlier this year.

It's because you're a superstar, you superstar. If you were one of the fans crashing the party with ticks left on the clock, then Paul Daugherty talks down to you with the utmost contempt. He writes that "most all of them lubed, all of them (irresponsible) and selfish, don't especially care about the well being of others, or even how they could jeopardize a game's outcome. They're just out there, raising hell and feeling entitled." We think that genuine joy continuing a tradition that's existed for generations among every football team at one pinnacle peak during their historical program, is fine. As much as entitlement comes in beating up on the local professional teams, so does a fan's onslaught of celebration checking off another item in the Big East championship run. Forget a moment that the clock appeared expired for the moment, or forget that the fans stampeding the crowd, just for a moment. Cincinnati's football team is the story in the area right now; as is Elder and Anderson playing for the Division one and Division two championships this weekend.

"You saw it," said defensive end Connor Barwin, who had three of Cincinnati's season-high seven sacks. "It was crazy. I was surrounded by fans asking to take my picture, shaking my hand. I couldn't get back to the locker room."

Barwin had three sacks Saturday night. It was a party, even though Daugherty attacks UC fans at Nippert Saturday.

With a putrid rushing offense (2.3 yards per rush), the Bearcats receiving duo of Gilyard and Dominick Goodman (who owns the record for receiving touchdowns), each over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown, were benefactors of Pike's career performance. He was outstanding. After missing games against Marshall and Rutgers with a broken arm, and a terrible performance against Connecticut (feeling the affects of said broken arm, sitting after half time), Pike went on to cruise through the gantlet (see below) which doesn't include a combined 43 of 58 for 561 yards and five touchdowns with no picks against Miami University and Akron before the injury.

He's six-foot, six. He's over 200 pounds. He's a junior. His career won't be finished once he graduates from Cincinnati.

The Gantlet is an avenue of two paths. After losing to Connecticut 40-16, this blogger held reservations of surviving a gantlet of games against South Florida, West Virginia, Louisville and Pittsburgh. The gantlet suggests if you win all four, the world is yours. If you don't beat the gantlet, the gantlet beats you. After handling South Florida, the Bearcats nearly had the collapse of all collapses against West Virginia, pulling out a three-point overtime win. They played down to Louisville for much of the game, and made the Pitt game less competitive than we expected.

Celebrate as one should, but not so much that we suck more than Notre Dame. If they beat Syracuse, UC is going to the Orange Bowl. It's premature, but the Orange freakin' Bowl!

Tony Pike turned in a career performance against Pittsburgh, completing 26 of 32 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns... After a 28-21 beating over the Pitt Panthers, the Bearcats moved up to 16th in the BCS... The Bearcats honored Ben Mauk before the game against Pitt... If it makes one feel well to spin facts, then this should be near euphoric; Texas Tech couldn't do what University of Cincinnati Bearcats did -- keep the margin under 30 points... Thanks to Pat White and West Virginia, the Bearcats were unable to clinch the Big East title Saturday outright. Now they have to beat Syracuse... Brian Kelly doesn't care about other job offers, and he wouldn't have it as good any place else other than UC, who is 20-5 (.800).

If you ask ten Bearcat fans what their biggest fear is, right now, it's a combination of two things. The short-term is losing to the Pitt Panthers on Saturday and our elimination from the BCS. The long-term is losing Brian Kelly to the vacant Tennessee Volunteers. Let's face facts, the University of Cincinnati is a stepping stone (see Mark Dantonio) towards greater football institutions, the SEC, the Big-12, the Big-10, the Pac-10, the ACC are all conferences that hold the top paying college head coaching positions in college football. Despite scoring a five-year contract with $1.8 million in raises back in January, the chances of him leaving for some of the bigger programs in the nation, I would project is high. Tennessee? Who knows. Daugherty says no, though others point out the UT job is prestigious (not just using this season as the job's reflection), and if the money is right and the job is offered... well. Kelly had no reaction.

Brian Bennett thinks that picking Tony Pike as the Big-East's second best quarterback will be "controversial". Then you look at Matt Grothe's sudden departure from being, arguably, the conference's best until he threw eight interceptions in the past three games, single-handedly taking South Florida out of early top-25 rankings. So Pike got #2.

Bearcats dismissed freshman wide receiver Nick Truesdell "for violating one of its rules."

It's generally believed that Saturday's UC/Pitt game will determine the Big East Champion, thus a BCS Bowl. And it very well could be. However, Scott Springer cautions that they still have to beat Syracuse. Previews here and here.

Louisville head coach wasn't pleased that the Bearcats joined hand-in-hand, circling the Cardinals logo before the game in a team-prayer; a team ritual. "It turned into a situation where a couple of their players came down onto the field and had to be restrained by some of their players," Kelly said. "Steve and I talked about it before the game. We disagreed about the manner in which it was handled but kept it professional and moved on."

The Bearcats moved ahead of Pittsburgh in the BCS and the AP, but not the USA Today. Cincinnati is ranked 19th in the BCS.

Mark Schlabach and Bruce Feldman have the Bearcats in the FedEx Orange Bowl.

For you Buckeyes fans, the Ohio State would play an SEC team (joy) in the Capitol One Bowl.

Don Borst thinks that it would be a "nightmare scenario" if the Bearcats go to the Orange Bowl, calling it a Dream matchup if Pittsburgh goes.

The Bearcats 28-20 win over Louisville was the first time that the Cardinals lost three games in a row since 1997.

This weekend's game between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh will be the biggest of the year. Too bad that we're talking college rather than Pros.

Dominick Goodman caught nine passes for 134 yards receiving. His touchdown gave the Bearcats the lead.

Seniors enjoyed their first career win over the Cardinals last Friday.

Bearcats earned "best game" and "biggest play".

Let's give a shout to the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. With the Reds usually out of the playoffs by the all-star break -- if not April -- and the Bengals starting 1-3, the Bearcats have found and accepted Cincinnati fans, from all over, looking for a winner; any winner; something to cheer on.

After beating No. 21 the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 28-23 Saturday night, the Bearcats have jumped to 15th in the latest AP Poll. Bearcats linebacker Ryan Manalac won the Big East defensive player of the week while punter Kevin Huber won special teams player of the week.

The Bearcats have Louisville on tap next Saturday and then head to Pittsburgh on October 20. November 3 will Cincinnati's big circle-the-date game at No. 5 South Florida. They play host to undefeated and unranked UCONN before hosting No. 8 West Virginia. They finish the season at Syracuse.